Elgar - Violin Concerto [Hahn/Davis-London Symphony Orchestra]
Here's something a bit different for me, a work that i find hard to assimilate, i love the Enigma Variations and the Cello Concerto, but the Violin Concerto is a bit of a tough nut to crack, long outer movements that are more Symphonic than Concerto, Elgar seems to have a lack of 'structural tunes', rather he gives us sprawling ideas splashed on a large canvas, it's a bit hard to pinpoint signposts along the way, two other works that i find equally impenetrable are Britten's Cello Symphony, and Bax's Cello Concerto, that being said, i don't find the same about the middle movement Andante, it seems fairly accessible, and today i plumbed its depths, i hope this is the beginning of a great thaw for this work for me.
Hilary Hahn is American, she's now 32, slowly she's taking us through a journey of the major Violin Concertos, but with each disc she throws in a less well known Concerto, she's also giving us some Chamber Music too, i hope she records the Brahms and Beethoven Sonatas, she recorded this work in 2003, the front cover photo [by Kasskara] is nice, being boxed into a wallpapered corner.
Here's Tasmin Little playing the middle movement Andante on YouTube, with Andrew Davis conducting.
